


A Promise

by lorir_writes



Series: AU-Gust Writing Challenge [2]
Category: Desire & Decorum (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ethnic slurs, Multi, Mutual Pining, Racial slurs, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27524662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorir_writes/pseuds/lorir_writes
Summary: The day of Hamid’s wedding comes, but he can’t seem to shake away thoughts of the woman he truly loves.
Relationships: Hamid (Desire & Decorum)/Original Female Character(s), Hamid/Main Character (Desire & Decorum)
Series: AU-Gust Writing Challenge [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011720
Kudos: 1





	A Promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [missameliep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missameliep/gifts).



> Warning: This piece contains subjects (mentions of bullying and ethnic slurs) which can be disturbing/offensive for some people. Reader discretion is advised.

**_Istanbul 2020_ **

Raindrops started drumming on the glass window whilst Hamid applied a beard oil along his jaw and neck. He glanced at the bathroom window and stared at himself in the mirror. For a split second, he thought the sudden weather change would affect the task he had for the day. Unluckily, the staff hired was prepared to deal with any unpredictable events because it was an important day. A day he thought about more times than he would admit. Yet, he didn’t expect it to be like this.

Once he left the bathroom and walked into the closet, he let out a sigh as he looked at his tuxedo on display. He didn’t know much about fashion, but he knew it was an elegant one, part of an exclusive collection of suits from a famous designer and tailored for him. Of course, this was her idea. She wanted him to wear something special and organized everything. She always had good taste.

His phone buzzed on the side table as he began to get dressed. If he was being honest, he couldn’t care less about who was texting him at that moment. But to distract himself, he tapped the screen idly to check the notifications. Among all congratulation texts and audios, his eyes landed on one message.

Hamid tapped his finger on her contact picture and zoomed in to look at her photograph. He was fascinated by her eyes, her hair, her smile, the little freckles on her nose. He could spend hours looking at it and never get tired of her. His mind always wandered between memories and dreams of her.

____

**_London 2003_ **

Hamid left the locker room and went outside to fill his water bottle. Football practices were great but so tiring. He could barely wait to go home and watch cartoons until dinner. He pressed the button of the fountain and cool water seeped into his bottle when he heard a sob. His eyebrows furrowed, trying to remember if somebody got hurt during the game. But he didn’t recall anyone complaining about injuries. Giving his shoulders and he put his bottle inside his backpack.

He was about to leave when he heard a crying sound again. He scratched the back of his head and walked around, looking for the place where the crying came from. Sitting on the floor, a little girl wearing pigtails hugged her legs and hid her face behind her arms. He hesitated at first, then quietly approached her. “Hey… Are you hurt?”

She didn’t answer.

“You can’t be here. If one of the guys kick the ball too hard, they can hit you.”

But the girl didn’t seem to listen.

For a moment, he thought about walking away. Still, he knew in his gut, it wasn’t the right thing to do. Taking his backpack off his shoulders, he put it down on the floor, sat beside her and waited.

A few minutes later, the sobbing stopped. The little girl raised her head just enough to check her surroundings and stared at him in confusion. “You’re still here…” She said between sniffs.

“Yeah.”

“But you said the ball could hit me. Aren’t you scared to get hit too?”

“I don’t mind. I always get hurt on practices anyway.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. You’re the one who catches the ball. You always fall on the floor to catch it.”

“Do you watch football practices?”

“Sometimes…”

“You should watch from the stands. It’s fun, you know. I bet many of your friends watch it too.”

“I don’t have friends here,“ she uttered, looking down at her hands.

He frowned. He was aware she was a new girl at school. She was recently transferred from a small town to live closer to her father, an English nobleman. He has been on her shoes before and knew it could take some time to adjust to a new city. But two weeks has passed since then. It was odd she still didn’t make any friends.

"Why are you still here?”

“I can’t leave you alone.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know…” His brows knitted together he mulled over her words. “You were crying. I thought you got hurt and needed help to go the infirmary.”

The girl averted her gaze once again.

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head.

“Why are you crying then?”

The little girl brushed her hand over her nose as she sniffed. “Felicity made fun of me and everybody in my class laughed. She said my eyes are weird and called me Ching Chong.”

Hamid scowled. Though he was a popular kid in school, he knew far too well what that girl sitting beside him was feeling. “Don’t pay attention to her. She’s dumb.”

“But everybody laughed.”

“They’re dumb too!” He insisted. The two kids went silent for a moment. This was personal to him. And he wouldn’t leave until he was sure she was okay. “People made fun of me on my first day here too.”

“Why?”

“An older dude said I talk funny and looked like a towelhead.”

“What’s that?”

“Something people say about hijabs. Some people from my religion use it to cover their hair. I heard it’s supposed to be funny, but I don’t think it is.” The scowl returned to his face again and he shook his head as if to brush it off. “I was mad about it and got in trouble that day. But when I got home, baban¹ told me I was right to fight back, but I had to use words. He said some people can be mean when they meet someone who is different. But it’s okay to be different. It would be boring if we were all the same, don’t you think?”

“Yeah… Briar doesn’t look like me but we’re friends anyway.”

“Who’s Briar?”

“My best friend.”

“See? We’re all different. Felicity is being dumb now, but she can change her mind. You don’t have to cry about that anymore.”

“Okay…” The little girl replied shyly, rubbing of one of her sleeves on her eyes.

A small moment of silence passed, but for reason, Hamid wasn’t satisfied with just making her stop crying. “Hey, do you want some water?”

The little girl nodded.

He opened his backpack and offered his bottle of water to her. “Here.”

She received it and took a sip of the cool water. “Thanks.” She returned the bottle to him and grabbed a small candy package from her backpack. “I have liquorice. Do you want some?”

“Sure. Thank you.” He grinned and received the candy from the little girl. “You’re cool, you know.”

“You too.” The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled.

“Hamid.” He held out his hand to her.

“Daphne.” She replied to the handshake with a smile.

“Okay, Daphne, you’re my friend now. I won’t let anyone make you cry again.”

“Really?” She turned to him wide-eyed.

He extended his arm, sticking out his pinky finger towards her. “It’s a promise.”

Without hesitation, she mimicked his gesture and the two kids locked their pinky fingers together. “Okay.”

____

**_Istanbul 2020_ **

Hamid smiled at the thought as he continued to get dressed. Anyone would say was an impossible promise to keep, but to his eight-year-old self, it was the right thing to do. So he did everything in his power Daphne would never shed a tear again. However, he didn’t know back then how that promise would affect him.

____

**_London 2011_ **

When Daphne stepped into the room with the pizza and soft drinks, a broad smile spread on his face. He crawled out from under her bed, sat in front of her laptop and clicked on the video player. “Finally! I thought I was going to starve to death here!” Hamid whispered.

“Oh, shush! You know I had to wait until Mama went to her room to order the pizza.” The girl pursed her lips, but she could barely hide her smile. “Besides, I don’t have the tendency to forget my friends locked in closets to watch football matches.” She gave him a knowing look and sat beside him, placing the pizza box and the drinks on the floor.

As they grew older, their families told them it was improper for them to have sleepovers. But it didn’t stop them from sneaking out to see each other. If anything, it made them more eager to be together.

“That was one time! There’s no way you could’ve died in there. I gave you dinner, you had water with you. You even found my stash of liquorice.” He scowled, feigning annoyance.

“I passed out!”

“No, you didn’t! You fell asleep!”

They elbowed each other playfully for a while, but as the movie began, the two of them went quiet. With their eyes glued to the laptop screen, they watched childhood friends sneaking out to hunt rabbits in the woods and plan to run away together as an arranged marriage proposal was offered to the girl.

“That’s so weird…” She wrinkled her nose.

“What?”

“Arranged marriages. I know why some cultures still have that, but it’s so odd that Valerie doesn’t have a say on it.”

“Well, she knows the guy who is going to be her future husband. It’s a start.”

“But she doesn’t like him the same way she likes Peter. They didn’t even kiss!” She commented between sips of her soft drink.

“I don’t think they were supposed to,” he acknowledged.

The girl gave her shoulders. “I wouldn’t marry someone without kissing them first. What if they’re a bad kisser?”

“And have you kissed someone to know that?" He narrowed his eyes.

"No…” She scowled at her friend. “But I have a pretty good idea of how a good kiss would be like.”

“Oh, do you now?” The young boy smirked.

“Yes.”

Hamid paused the movie and looked at her. “Then pray tell me, how would a good kiss be like to you?”

“Okay.” She shifted to the side to look at him. “First, it has to be gentle. Second, no saliva. And third, no biting.”

“So it’s just a peck?” He stared at her deadpan.

“No. They can open their mouths slightly.”

“You’re so wrong about this.” He scoffed.

“Well, my apologies, Mr Expert Kisser. I didn’t kiss half of our school as you did. I gave you just my opinion.” She mocked.

“I didn’t kiss half of the school. And I don’t have to kiss lots of people to know how a good kiss is like.” The boy folded his arms.

“Then prove it!”

“There’s no way I can prove that to you.”

“Yes, there is! Kiss me.”

“What?!” He froze.

“Kiss me.”

_Are you insane?!_ “But you never kissed anyone!”

“So?”

“I can’t!”

“Come on! It’s just a kiss.”

“Yes! Your first kiss!” He exclaimed, still shocked by her suggestion.

“What? Don’t you want to kiss me?” Daphne frowned.

“No! Daph, it’s not that! It’s just—” he trailed off and scratched the back of his head, still uneasy. If it was any other girl, he would’ve kissed her ages ago. Why was he nervous to kiss one of his best friends? “I just have to know if you’re sure of it.”

“I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of it. You’re my friend. Lots of people kiss their friends, especially as their first kiss.”

“I know that, but don’t you want to do this with someone you like?”

“No. I want to do it with someone I love.” She squeezed his hand and smiled.

His heartbeat raced in his chest, his eyes were drawn to her lips. Like a magnet, he began to close the distance between them. As she followed his lead, meeting him halfway, he stopped. His palms began to sweat, his cheeks felt warm. It was like having a first kiss all over again. _What’s happening to me?_ But her face was all he could see. So he leaned in, pressing his lips on hers.

In a soft motion, her lips gently brushed over his and her hand caressed one side of his face. A small wave of pleasure coursed through his body, exhilarating like having a bite of chocolate truffle. But all too soon, she pulled away and plastered a smug grin on her face. “I told you it’d be a good kiss.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. _But it was just a peck! How did she—_ Once he realised she was staring at him bewildered, he brushed it off. “Okay, it was better than I expected. But it could have been an amazing kiss if we added those things you said a good kiss shouldn’t have.”

“That’s bull! You’re lying to me.”

“Well, I guess there’s only one way for you to find out,” Hamid said, taking a slice of pizza to his mouth then sliding his fingertip on the touchpad to resume the movie only to see her pause it again. “What?”

“Prove it.”

The corners of his mouth curled up slyly as he gazed at her. “Okay.”

____

**_Istanbul 2020_ **

Much to his dismay, kissing Daphne was a rare event. On the following day, she acted like nothing happened. Unlike the other girls at their school, she seemed immune to his flirty behaviour. With time, he gave up trying. It probably didn’t mean anything to her back then. If she didn’t feel something when they kissed that night, maybe it was for the best if he also pretended it didn’t happen. Regardless of what kind of love she felt for him, he was happy with it. He just wanted to be close to her.

The buzzing sound of his phone on the side table pulled him out of reverie. He picked up his mobile then tapped the screen to listen.

"Darling, I had a tiny problem with my dress, but Daphne is coming here to fix it. It won’t take long. I think I need to buy something nice for her when we arrive in Venice as a thank you for all her help with the wedding. Will you help me with that? Can’t wait to see you. Bye-bye!”

Sibel was a nice person. Clever, extrovert, funny. They shared many common interests, which made it easy for him to go through with the relationship. His wedding would help merge two of the most traditional families and create one of the biggest holdings of Istanbul. Although he didn’t truly want to live the life his parents chose for him, it was the safest choice. Both families would be happy and he wouldn’t get hurt. Or so he thought.

He reached for his tie when another notification popped on his mobile again. And one more time, his features soften as he read the message.

Sitting on a chair nearby, Hamid read the conversation again and waited. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to see her right before his wedding. But at the moment, it didn’t matter. He had to see her again. Even if it was just to give himself closure.

____

¹ Baban: Dad


End file.
